Amtrak's Long-Distance Train Performance
June 2020
For the month of June 2020, the Bull Sheet has calculated that 58 percent of Amtrak's named long-distance trains arrived at their final destination on time or earlier. [In the same month last year it was 21 percent.]
The average arrival of all long-distance trains in the survey period was 29 minutes late. [In the same month last year the average was one hour and 24 minutes late.]
The average arrival of just the trains that were behind schedule was one hour and nine minutes late. [In the same month last year it was one hour and 47 minutes late.]
A train is considered late whenever it arrives at its final destination behind schedule, even if only by a minute. Sufficient padding is incorporated into long-distance train schedules to eliminate the need for grace allowances in showing a train arriving on time when it is actually late. Amtrak routinely reports trains arriving on time if they are nominally late, within certain guidelines, but the Bull Sheet conveys more realistic parameters reflecting actual performance (on time, or it is late).
Trains arriving ahead of schedule are simply shown 'on time,' with no extra credit given to offset other arrivals that are late. Trains that are canceled, truncated, terminated en route, or provided with ambiguous or unreliable data are excluded from the survey.
This survey was compiled by the Bull Sheet's statistical department comprehending actual performance as reported for each affected train on Amtrak's website. Data only apply to arrival at final destination; average arrival at intermediate stations will generally differ.
Traffic in June was somewhat impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. This, and freight volumes on host railroads being depressed, resulted in more improved Amtrak performance in this period. Moreover, a number of trains that would ordinarily operate were either truncated or did not run at all. The averages reflected in this survey period are not typical by historical standards, but they are presented nevertheless as a matter of record.
Average daily long-distance train performance in June 2020 was as follows:
Date
Pct on-time arrival
Overall avg arrival
Avg arrival if late
Monday, June 1 68 %
17 mins late
53 mins late
Tuesday, June 2 50 %
38 mins late
1 hour, 17 mins late
Wednesday, June 3 55 %
27 mins late
1 hour, 1 min late
Thursday, June 4 55 %
22 mins late
49 mins late
Friday, June 5 41 %
33 mins late
55 mins late
Saturday, June 6 73 %
32 mins late
2 hours late
Sunday, June 7 61 %
14 mins late
34 mins late
Monday, June 8 67 %
54 mins late
2 hours, 42 mins late
Tuesday, June 9 55 %
1 hour, 11 mins late
2 hours, 39 mins late
Wednesday, June 10 50 %
23 mins late
46 mins late
Thursday, June 11 55 %
33 mins late
1 hour, 12 mins late
Friday, June 12 63 %
14 mins late
38 mins late
Saturday, June 13 70 %
11 mins late
37 mins late
Sunday, June 14 69 %
14 mins late
45 mins late
Monday, June 15 72 %
17 mins late
1 hour, 1 min late
Tuesday, June 16 58 %
35 mins late
1 hour, 23 mins late
Wednesday, June 17 69 %
26 mins late
1 hour, 24 mins late
Thursday, June 18 61 %
17 mins late
44 mins late
Friday, June 19 66 %
11 mins late
31 mins late
Saturday, June 20 62 %
19 mins late
51 mins late
Sunday, June 21 59 %
24 mins late
58 mins late
Monday, June 22 66 %
17 mins late
49 mins late
Tuesday, June 23 48 %
26 mins late
50 mins late
Wednesday, June 24 52 %
27 mins late
57 mins late
Thursday, June 25 37 %
29 mins late
46 mins late
Friday, June 26 41 %
59 mins late
1 hour, 40 mins late
Saturday, June 27 47 %
52 mins late
1 hour, 37 mins late
Sunday, June 28 58 %
48 mins late
1 hour, 54 mins late
Monday, June 29 55 %
38 mins late
1 hour, 25 mins late
Tuesday, June 30 50 %
28 mins late
57 mins late
. .
.
.
Composite for Month 58 %
29 mins late
1 hour, 9 mins late
Five-year comparison for June . . .
5-year comparison
Pct on-time arrival
Overall avg arrival
Avg arrival if late
. .
.
.
June 2016 29 %
1 hour, 2 mins late
1 hour, 26 mins late
June 2017 20 %
1 hour, 13 mins late
1 hour, 32 mins late
June 2018 19 %
1 hour, 27 mins late
1 hour, 47 mins late
June 2019 21 %
1 hour, 24 mins late
1 hour, 47 mins late
June 2020 58 %
29 mins late
1 hour, 9 mins late
June 2020 Train-by-Train Performance . . .
Train
Pct on-time arrival
Overall avg arrival
Avg arrival if late
Auto Train 65 %
18 mins late
50 mins late
California Zephyr 56 %
1 hour, 6 mins late
2 hours, 30 mins late
Capitol Limited 45 %
29 mins late
52 mins late
Cardinal 42 %
49 mins late
1 hour, 25 mins late
Carolinian 48 %
21 mins late
40 mins late
City of New Orleans 84 %
12 mins late
1 hour, 17 mins late
Coast Starlight 71 %
16 mins late
57 mins late
Crescent 48 %
22 mins late
43 mins late
Empire Builder 71 %
16 mins late
56 mins late
Lake Shore Limited 61 %
19 mins late
49 mins late
Maple Leaf [no data]
.
.
Palmetto 37 %
36 mins late
56 mins late
Silver Meteor 68 %
35 mins late
1 hour, 49 mins late
Silver Star 40 %
57 mins late
1 hour, 36 mins late
Southwest Chief 58 %
31 mins late
1 hour, 14 mins late
Sunset Limited 38 %
41 mins late
1 hour, 6 mins late
Texas Eagle 62 %
27 mins late
1 hour, 10 mins late
Vermonter [no data]
.
.
Composite for Month 58 %
29 mins late
1 hour, 9 mins late
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2020 Year-to-Date Standings - Percentage On-Time Arrival
Train
Pct On Time Arrival
City of New Orleans 89 %
Maple Leaf 78 %
Empire Builder 69 %
Coast Starlight 68 %
Southwest Chief 68 %
Vermonter 67 %
California Zephyr 65 %
Auto Train 61 %
Carolinian 60 %
Silver Meteor 60 %
Silver Star 60 %
Lake Shore Limited 56 %
Cardinal 55 %
Capitol Limited 44 %
Texas Eagle 44 %
Palmetto 42 %
Sunset Limited 30 %
Crescent 25 %
2020 Year-to-Date Standings - Overall Average Arrival
Train
Overall Average Arrival
Maple Leaf 3 mins late
Vermonter 4 mins late
City of New Orleans 9 mins late
Lake Shore Limited 17 mins late
Carolinian 18 mins late
Coast Starlight 20 mins late
Palmetto 23 mins late
Capitol Limited 25 mins late
Silver Meteor 27 mins late
Southwest Chief 28 mins late
Silver Star 28 mins late
Empire Builder 30 mins late
Auto Train 30 mins late
Cardinal 37 mins late
California Zephyr 43 mins late
Texas Eagle 45 mins late
Crescent 1 hour, 18 mins late
Sunset Limited 1 hour, 37 mins late
2020 Year-to-Date Standings - Average Arrival if Late
Train
Average arrival if late
Vermonter 12 mins late
Maple Leaf 14 mins late
Lake Shore Limited 39 mins late
Palmetto 40 mins late
Capitol Limited 45 mins late
Carolinian 46 mins late
Coast Starlight 1 hour, 3 mins late
Silver Meteor 1 hour, 8 mins late
Silver Star 1 hour, 10 mins late
Auto Train 1 hour, 18 mins late
Texas Eagle 1 hour, 21 mins late
City of New Orleans 1 hour, 23 mins late
Cardinal 1 hour, 23 mins late
Southwest Chief 1 hour, 27 mins late
Empire Builder 1 hour, 37 mins late
Crescent 1 hour, 44 mins late
California Zephyr 2 hours, 5 mins late
Sunset Limited 2 hours, 17 mins late
MULTI-WEEK PERFORMANCE:
Week ending . . .
Pct on-time arrival
Overall avg arrival
Avg arrival if late
January 5, 2020 52 %
47 mins late
1 hour, 37 mins late
January 12, 2020 52 %
40 mins late
1 hour, 23 mins late
January 19, 2020 58 %
22 mins late
52 mins late
January 26, 2020 62 %
22 mins late
56 mins late
February 2, 2020 60 %
24 mins late
59 mins late
February 9, 2020 49 %
51 mins late
1 hour, 39 mins late
February 16, 2020 48 %
47 mins late
1 hour, 30 mins late
February 23, 2020 47 %
46 mins late
1 hour, 26 mins late
March 1, 2020 53 %
33 mins late
1 hour, 11 mins late
March 8, 2020 53 %
32 mins late
1 hour, 9 mins late
March 15, 2020 55 %
39 mins late
1 hour, 27 mins late
March 22, 2020 52 %
41 mins late
1 hour, 25 mins late
March 29, 2020 55 %
40 mins late
1 hour, 28 mins late
April 5, 2020 63 %
22 mins late
1 hour, 1 min late
April 12, 2020 68 %
25 mins late
1 hour, 18 mins late
April 19, 2020 67 %
23 mins late
1 hour, 11 mins late
April 26, 2020 69 %
11 mins late
36 mins late
May 3, 2020 72 %
18 mins late
1 hour, 3 mins late
May 10, 2020 67 %
19 mins late
59 mins late
May 17, 2020 65 %
20 mins late
58 mins late
May 24, 2020 59 %
22 mins late
53 mins late
May 31, 2020 71 %
16 mins late
55 mins late
June 7, 2020 57 %
26 mins late
1 hour, 2 mins late
June 14, 2020 61 %
31 mins late
1 hour, 19 mins late
June 21, 2020 64 %
21 mins late
59 mins late
June 28, 2020 50 %
37 mins late
1 hour, 13 mins late